Alyssa Healy Blasts a Second Century to Send Australia into Cricket World Cup Semi-Finals

The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.

Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot

Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Leads

Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”